Pope: Catholic Church Had Grown "Obsessed" With Preaching About Gays

Wow. Pope Francis is certainly shaking things up in the Catholic church! We may need someone to sprinkle some holy water to revive us after reading the Pope's statements that may have far-reaching ramifications for the Catholic church and its messaging towards gays and those seeking abortion and the use of contraception.

The Pope sat down for multiple interviews with Rev. Antonio Spadaro, the editor-in-chief of the Italian Jesuit journal, La Civiltà Cattolica.

Pope Francis, in the first extensive interview of his six-month-old papacy, said that the Roman Catholic church had grown “obsessed” with preaching about abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he has chosen not to speak of those issues despite recriminations from some critics.

In remarkably blunt language, Francis sought to set a new tone for the church, saying it should be a “home for all” and not a “small chapel” focused on doctrine, orthodoxy and a limited agenda of moral teachings.

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The new pope’s words are likely to have repercussions in a church whose bishops and priests in many countries, including the United States, often appeared to make combating abortion, gay marriage and contraception their top public policy priorities.

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We've also questioned the Catholic Church's obsession with combating the gays. It's exciting to see the Pope calling this out as well.

Pope Francis says, “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.

“The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.

“We have to find a new balance,” he continued, “otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.

As for the Catholic Church's strict teachings against homosexuality and abortion, the Pope makes himself clear:

"The proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives.”

He tells Rev. Spadaro, “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person.”

The Pope continues, “This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people,” he said. “We must not reduce the bosom of the universal church to a nest protecting our mediocrity.”

Boom. "A nest protecting our mediocrity?" The Pope is clearly trying to clean up the Catholic Church's own house and make it a "home for all."

What do you think about his statements, Instincters? Surprised?

Is this potentially an exciting new direction for the church under the stewardship of an enlightened leader?